UBS banned global travel for 1,000 wealth management advisors serving foreign clients amid fears of employees being detained in relation to tax evasion investigations, notably in the United States

, according to Swiss newspaper Sonntags Blick. "We issued a general travel ban for all staff with client contact in international wealth management," according to a spokeswoman quoted by Reuters. "This is an immediate step to reduce compliance risk. We are conducting the review because of the complex regulatory environment of UBS international wealth management." The Financial Timesreported that other private Swiss banks also have banned their top executives from traveling, "even to neighbouring France and Germany, because of fears they will be detained as part of a global crackdown on bank secrecy."